Ice Cream Man

Bamboozle Left 2008 Review

Words by Chad Sengstock
Photos by Chad Sengstock

Day 1

I have to admit that once I printed out the schedule for The Bamboozle Left's first day line-up, I was excited that I didn’t have to get there very early. There really wasn’t a band I really wanted to see until 5:25pm and that was Dear and the Headlights.

I did show up around 2pm, however, because I figured I had nothing better to do, plus I knew I would run into some friends who were going to be there. Sure enough I did. I ran into people I knew left and right. It was amazing. I knew more people than I was even expecting. After having shot some of the bigger type festivals (Warped Tour, Cornerstone California), I have come to the conclusion that it is more about seeing the people you haven’t seen in awhile rather than watching a band play a short set. So for the first few hours I caught up with some friends that I hadn’t seen in awhile.

The first band I shot was RX Bandits. I did it mainly because I wanted something to do. I had never seen the RX Bandits before, but have heard good things about them. I thought they were all right. I wouldn’t consider them life-changing, but still I was glad I caught their set. After their first 3 songs, I had to book it to the far side of the Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, and that is no short distance. I think it took me at least 10 to 15 minutes to walk from the main stage to the 5 Stage, which was one of the smaller side stages. I showed up out of breathe, but beyond excited to see Dear and the Headlights. I randomly purchased their CD, Small Steps, Heavy Hoofs, through Rev Distribution, and it has been one of my favorite CDs since. I have been lucky enough to have caught their show a few times before and have had the chance to talk with them and hangout with them, so that makes seeing them live all the more special for me. They certainly did not disappoint once again. They played a few new songs that made me excited about their new CD that is supposed to be in the works. I chatted with the guys for a little bit after their set, but I had to run back to the main stages because the headliners were starting to go on.

I made it back in time for Alkaline Trio. I was super excited to see those guys because I have never seen them before and I have heard such great things. Unfortunately they had some technical difficulties which basically killed their set. I was told from a friend of mine that all you could hear from the crowd was the bass and it was super loud. He said it was so bad, that he had to walk away. And he is a huge Alkaline Trio fan. But that is not something you can hold against the band, so if I get the chance to see them again, I will be there. Face to Face played right after Alkaline Trio. I had just seen Face to Face on Thursday at the Glass House in Pomona for the first time and they were amazing. So I was excited to see them again. Once again they were fantastic and you could tell the crowd was pumped to see Face to Face playing again. So if anyone from Face to Face reads this, welcome back and thanks for coming back!

The next block of bands was Paramore, Jimmy Eat World and All-American Rejects. I have to admit, I am a fan of Paramore. At first, I really didn’t want to like them, but it just wasn’t possible. And if you are sitting on the fence on whether or not you like them, go see them live. It will make your mind up for you. That is what happened to me. I feel in love with them after seeing them live. They have so much energy and just put on a powerful show. You can’t help but be moved. Plus, being in this business you hear a lot of things, and I hear nothing but good things about this band. Their show was of course amazing and the thousands of people there to see them cheered their approval.

Jimmy Eat World co-headlined with the All-American Rejects. I thought they both put on fantastic shows. It was the first time I had seen either of them before. Jimmy Eat World played first and you could tell the crowd was stoked to see them. I know a lot of the people I knew were very excited to see Jimmy Eat World play. They probably should have played last, because after their set, half the crowd left, leaving the All-American Rejects a noticeably smaller crowd. It is too bad, because I really liked their set. I thought it was a lot of fun and that they put on a great show.

After the concert, I didn’t want to sit in my car waiting to get out, so I hung around backstage. I met Zac and Jeremy from Paramore, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, and Mike Brown from Streetlight Manifesto. I think it was well after midnight when I dragged my tired body to my car knowing that I was going to do it all again on Sunday.

Day 2

I showed up a little earlier on this day because I wanted to see MxPx and they went on 1:30pm. I was able to bring a friend along this day because the owner of Old Shoe Records was kind of enough to give me an extra ticket. So my friend met me at my place about 11:30am. We went to In-n-Out for some lunch and then headed back out to the Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre for yet another long day of music, crowds and sun.

I was bummed that MxPx was playing so early. They were one of the first punk bands that I got into maybe 15 years ago. They have always had an amazing live show, so it is always a treat to see them. I recently met Mike Herrera and have chatted with him a few times. It is always an enlightening thing when you meet someone you always looked up to and find out they are just a normal person like you. Despite MxPx have to play in front of a smaller crowd due to their earlier start time, they still played a great show and even saw the most stubborn of people singing along to “Punk Rawk Show.” So I was very happy that I made it in time to see them.

Sunday’s line-up was better than Saturday’s, I thought. At least there were more bands that I wanted to see. The next band of which, was Shook Ones. I got into these guys because they used to be on Revelation Records and my friend works for Rev and he gave me their CD. They are a fast hardcore band and always put on a high energy show, very nice when you are taking photos of it. They were awesome as usual and had a good crowd even though they played on one of the small side stages. My friend and I made the hike back to the main stages in time to catch Hawthorne Heights’ set. I wasn’t a fan. I think I shot two songs and left. So instead of listening to them, I walked back to the side stages, another 10 minute walk, to catch a bit of Foxy Shazam’s set. I saw these guys for the first time in Texas during this year’s SXSW. They put on one of the craziest live shows I have seen in a long time. I am surprised Eric, the singer, can walk away after a show. Keep an eye out for these guys and if they come to your town and you want to see an entertaining show, go check them out.

I had to take off half way through Foxy Shazam’s set because I didn’t want to miss Hot Water Music. Hot Water Music is another one of those bands I have heard so much about, but never saw them live. I had met Chuck Ragan at one of his solo concerts, so I was excited to see him in the band that made him famous. They were amazing. You could tell that the crowd was excited to see them play again and it looked like the band was excited as well. The next band I shot was Saves the Day. This was yet another band I had never seen before, but definitely have heard of them. My friend was really excited to see them, so I was intrigued. I thought they were all right. I would definitely listen to them, but I think they are one of those bands that would be better seen at an actual show and not at a festival.

Another band I got to see for the first time was Anti-Flag. Talk about a fun band to shoot photos of, they were all over the place. It made me wish I saw them back in the day when they were playing in small venues. I think it would have been amazing. I want to go see these guys again, but at an actual venue. The next band was one I was excited to see. It was the Bravery. I believe I saw a video of theirs on VH1 and I thought they were pretty good. But I am one of those guys who needs to see a band live before I can safely say I like them or not. The Bravery was definitely one of the odd balls at the show. Most of the bands were heavier than they were and I think they stepped up the energy of their set because of that. My friend had seen them before and said that they weren’t normally that energetic. He said it looked like the singer was on crack or something. I thought it was awesome and totally dug their energy. I did leave a little early because 7 Seconds was playing on a side stage. Most people may not know who 7 Seconds are, but they one of the bands that greatly influenced my band back in high school. They were a hardcore band on the forefront of hardcore back in the 80’s. They still bring it. The crowd went nuts for them, but it just wasn’t the same having a 8 foot trench between the crowd and the band. 7 Seconds shows are meant to have crowd interaction, but it was impossible with a trench full of security guards. So that was the only downside to the 7 Seconds show. Otherwise, they were amazing and seeing them brings back a lot of memories for me from high school.

The rest of the evening I stayed at the main stages. I got to hear the tail end of Chiodos’ set, but didn’t get to shoot them. Luckily I shot them twice in Texas. All I can say about Chiodos’ set was that they were way too loud. Painfully loud. It kind of wrecked it for me. Blaqk Audio was the first main stage headliner. As I am standing there in the photo trench waiting for Davey and Jade to come out on stage I could help but think I was about to see Davey Havok play techno music. Davey Havok, the legendary singer of AFI, one of my favorite hardcore bands. I have been a fan of AFI ever since my friend played “Very Proud of Ya" for me when it first came out. I have been supporting AFI ever since. As I was thining about this, out walked Davey in a tight shiny suit and with the first notes he started doing rave dance moves. I couldn’t believe it. I kind of just stood there in a stupefied trance. I soon got over it and actually started to enjoy their set. Davey is an entertainer and it shows. I don’t think I will ever buy a Blaqk Audio CD, but I was definitely entertained.

The last band of the night and of the Bamboozle Left festival was My Chemical Romance. I was so excited to see these guys. I really liked “The Black Parade,” but was never able to make it out to any of their shows. Despite Gerard dropping f-bombs every other word, I thought they were unbelievable. I don’t think anyone left early that night. MCR played in front of a huge crowd and the crowd pretty much sang every word along with Gerard. It was an awesome experience. It was a fantastic way to end the evening and the festival. My friend and I hung around for awhile after the show to avoid the mad exodus again. Once we finally left, we headed straight to Denny’s for a Grand Slam breakfast. A perfect end to a long, fun day.